Rest In Peace Dave Van Gorder

It seemed that in the 1980s, back up catchers who kicked around for a bunch of seasons despite not hitting much were a dime a dozen. Steve Lake, Alan Knicely, Steve Christmas and the late Dave Van Gorder, who passed away in 2025, are examples of this.

First drafted by the Phillies in the first round and later drafted by the Orioles in the second round, Van Gorder spent parts of five years in the big leagues with a lifetime batting average of .212. He spent the bulk of his career with the Cincinnati Reds and finished his career with a brief return to the Orioles.

Teams need backup catchers. They need players who can spend a good portion of the season on the bench and be an insurance policy if the starting catcher gets hurt and play once a week while the starter rests. This is a great description of Dave Van Gorder.

I don't remember him very well. With a name like Van Gorder, it stuck with me. He had a cool baseball card in 1986 as pictured, and for that reason, he is a Baseball Card Memory. Rest in Peace, Dave!